Discovery’s Edge: The dawn of a new medical era with genomics

That was just the beginning of research on the human genome. Researchers are now exploring how deeper genetic knowledge can be used for early detection of diseases, such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and various types of cancer. With this expanding knowledge, they hope to find new treatments for some of the world’s most pressing medical challenges.

As Dr. Weinshilboum’s research team studied enzymes involved in eliminating neurotransmitters, they discovered a related enzyme, known as TPMT, that eliminated a particular type of toxicity from the body after drug therapy for certain leukemia patients. Because 1 in 300 children with leukemia had adverse reactions to the drug therapy, Dr. Weinshilboum was curious whether variations in enzyme levels based on each child’s genes played a role in the side effects.

“We wondered if there was a genetic inability to break down the drug, essentially causing an overdose in kids who couldn’t metabolize it,” he recalls. Read the rest of the article.
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